Whimsical Ideas by Pam Nancy's Birthday

PR Sample

Nancy's Birthday from Whimsical Ideas by Pam is such a fun and festive color! I thoroughly enjoyed wearing it this week.
Just look at the rainbow of confetti in the girly pink base!



Wait, take a closer look!


First with gloss - a huge hit at work! My hand was grabbed a few times so they could have a better look!
This is two coats of Nancy's Birthday over two coats of I Believe In Amour from Color Club, the perfect match!


And of course I topped it with matte top coat near the end of the week! Pam tells me that this polish is named after her favorite sister, isn't that sweet!?


You can get yours and more at Whimsical Ideas by Pam's Facebook page.

A Matte Green Thumb? Of course!! :D

PR Sample

Mattified around day five or six, and worn for another two days. It wore like iron and although tip wear is visible in the photo, it wasn't as apparent to the eye. :)
I love that color, the shredded glitter flakes, green bar glitters, teensy weensy gold glitter - simply gorgeous!!

Green Thumb, Whimsical Ideas by Pam

I've been tagged!

The lovely Lynda tagged me, and although participation was optional, I thought I'd go ahead and do it.

The Rules
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus eleven questions for the people you have tagged to answer.
3. Choose eleven people and link them in your tag.
4. Email the person to let them know that they’ve been tagged.
5. No tag backs.
6. You legitimately have to tag

1. If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
Disney Paris

2. What Chinese astrology animal sign are you?
I'm a tiger, rawr! Here is what the webpage says about the tiger year:

Tigers may not be the king of the jungle, but these striped cats are no softies! Magnetic and self-possessed, Tigers are born leaders. They have an air of authority that prompts others to fall in line, which is exactly how they like it. Although they are magnetically charming and fun to be around, Tigers like to go it alone sometimes too. A Tiger's main interest is in following its ambitions -- and maintaining control. Tigers are courageous beyond compare and generally come out ahead in battle, be it in the boardroom or the bedroom. Seduction is one area where the Tiger is definitely king! Noble and warm-hearted, Tigers have a natural, raw appeal that's extremely attractive to other Signs. They're not just about attraction, though; ever on the side of right, Tigers will fight the good fight to the bitter end if the cause is worthy. Opponents are wise to fear this feline. A bit of caution is a good thing around Tigers, since they can pounce without warning. They experience mood swings and often feel things more intensely than others, the latter quality being both good and bad. They can react poorly under stress and are prone to emotional outbursts. This Sign's bristling sensitivity can send friend and foe running for cover. A lesson that Tigers would be well-served to learn is moderation in all things. Once these cats can find their center and direct their considerable energies toward worthwhile endeavors (as opposed to racing through life), they will accomplish much.

3. Do you have any concerns about the Mayan calender ending on Dec 24th, 2012?
Nope, none at all.

4. If you enjoy reading, who is your all time favorite author?
I don't read books much, but my favorite message board to read is MakeUpAlley

5. How many blogs do you follow on a regular basis?
None regularly, but I pop in once in a while to three or four blogs.

6. American Idol or The Voice (or neither)
What are those? -giggle- Sorry, I don't watch either one.

7. Are you an early riser or night owl?
Night owl

8. Do you have a skin care regiment you follow each night before bed?
Nope, not at all. Sometimes I put lotion on my legs but that's about it.

9. What magazines do you subscribe to?
None, Intarwebs has all the info I need, no need to pay for a subscription. :)

10. One beauty product you can not live without.
Lotion, I get dry itchy skin and must have lotion. :)

11. Ever been skinny dipping?
Once in my backyard pool when I was about 5 years old. My best friend and I would climb the pool ladder, holler at the neighbor (grandpa aged man) and jump in real fast before he could see. Mom came to see what we were yelling about and caught us in the act!

If you want to be tagged, consider yourself tagged! Use the questions above, or tell whatever you'd like!
(I know I'm not following instruction, but I don't want anyone feeling obligated in the least.)

What is cuticle?

Please see image near bottom of Doug Schoon's website.
Salon Life's cuticle explanation video
This is the best image and video I could find online that is accurate, and I don't want to publish them here and take traffic from them, so please visit the links. :) Thanks!

See the Proximal Nail Fold (PNF)? That is what most people confuse with the cuticle and they end up doing damage to it. PNF should never be cut, poked or prodded aggressively on purpose. It works as a seal to protect you from bacteria and infection and needs to be allowed to do its thang. :)

The cuticle is an epidermal layer of skin that is virtually invisible. It grows out in a thin layer attached to the top of the natural nail plate from the underside of the PNF.
What most people call the cuticle is actually the PNF. Cutting, picking, or any other attempt to remove the PNF should be avoided at all costs. Doing so greatly increases the risk of paronychia (a nasty painful bacterial infection). On top of the dreaded infection, the body replaces the cut/torn/eradicated skin with scar tissue and/or calloused and hardened PNF so it will be even worse (bigger/tougher) when it regrows.

If you or someone you love cuts their PNF, get them to stop. Have them use softening and exfoliating products like Alpha Hydroxy creams, CND Cuticle Eraser, and pure lanolin to soften and exfoliate the hardened skin. They can even use a gel or creamy cuticle remover, which will help to remove the dead cuticle from the nail plate and detach the PNF from it with very gentle pushing. My favorite remover is Blue Cross from Sally Beauty or KBShimmer Clean Start gel cuticle remover, and I used to use Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover in the blue bottle which is also really good.


I took the below photo of my own nail to demonstrate the part of the cuticle that can safely be removed weekly or bi-weekly to keep your nails pretty and your polish on. :)
The purple arrows shows the stuff you will want to remove, the red arrow is what you want to leave be (PNF) except to detach it from the dead cuticle so that it will retreat back where it should be. When PNF gets pulled down the plate by the growing cuticle, it will stretch the PNF out and make it look bigger than it is. Detaching it will let it 'spring' back and after a day it will look like it should. To see how this is done please visit The Salon Life on youtube, she has dozens of videos of natural nail manicures that teach how to do this gently.

Usually, the purple arrow portion is not visible but thanks to acetone it showed so I could photograph it for you!

The red arrow is the PNF which seals out bacteria to prevent infection, and is the part you'll want to moisturize daily and let it do its thang.

Go forth and treat your PNF well!

Green Thumb

PR Sample

This week's mani is called Green Thumb and is made by an indie polish shop called Whimsical Ideas by Pam

Gold and green micro glitter, green bar glitter, and lime green shreds swim in a sea of green shimmer filled jelly. Absolutely stunning in the bottle, take a look!




Even more stunning on the nail!


I first tried Green Thumb on its own, but at three coats I thought it was a little thick so I removed and tried it with underwear. Photo shows one coat Nina Salsa for underwear, two coats Green Thumb, Gelous and SV.

Dollish and Lasers and coincidences!

Dollish
Matte topcoat is so much fun to use to change up a mani for the last couple of days of wear. I really love how it feels to the touch and how it looks on top of glitter polishes. Isn't it nifty?


Lasers!
I recently bought a Groupon for six sessions of laser hair removal in a small area. I made my appointment for May 12, (My Dad's Birthday) and am choosing the underarms as the area. I have been wanting/wishing I could do this for several years now and Groupon made it so affordable I couldn't pass it up! If you don't have a Groupon membership, I would love it if you use my link for the referral; if you don't want to, that's cool too. :)

Coincidence
I lost my dad two and half years ago to a car accident and this past week, I keep being reminded of him and his birthday. One morning I was driving to work and felt bad because I had been cross with Jas and my dad just popped into my mind. The same day at work, a coworker of mine was describing a wrecked vehicle she saw (and making a joke of it) which was similar to my dad's wreck. The next day, I called to make my laser appointment, and his birthday was the first available day. Later that afternoon, IT sent an email asking me to schedule my Win7 upgrade and the latest date I could choose was the day before my dad's birthday. If there is an afterlife, and if they can send signals to us - he is definitely doing it. I feel somewhat comforted and a little sad at the same time. I miss him.
Have you ever had something like this happen?

Haus of Gloi

Haus of Gloi has just released new Reverie collection scents!

Banana Puddin' - Classic banana pudding with a touch of bourbon vanilla. Slightly soggy vanilla wafers included.

Haus Chai - Creamy chai tea, with mandarins and burnt myrrh.

White Blueberry - Blueberries awash with white vanilla sugar, cream and a sprig of white thyme

I've already placed my order for one Pumpkin Butter in each of these new scents. I am so excited about them!

Dollish Polish Zombie Flesh

I received my very first Dollish Polish order and first up is Zombie Flesh!
The polish is a dusty green that contains two sizes of black hex glitter, gold micro glitter and kelly green micro glitter. The glitter is already loaded on the brush without any fishing on my part. The first layer is very transparent however; I was very surprised when it was opaque in just two coats! The surface is smooth to the touch with only one layer of Seche Vite top coat.

Zombie Flesh is really quite beautiful! Whatcha think?

Sssn - a dupe

My lovely friend S over at the blue made a couple frankens of Starry Starry Night. She has the real SSN and posted a comparison of the three.

Can you tell them apart in her photo? Can ya? I sure couldn't!

Left to Right: SSN2(franken), SSN(real mccoy!), SSN1(franken)
When she offered the frankens up for grabs, I jumped on it!

I chose SSN2 and renamed it Sssn, using her first initial. :P
Feast your eyes on this gorgeous franken!

The Foil Method

Tough Glitter polish on your nails? Never fear, the foil method is here! Your glitter will slide off like butter with this method.

You'll need small squares of felt, cotton pads or an unrolled cotton ball cut in small squares, foil cut into strips to fit your fingertips or the pre-made foil/cotton wraps and a bottle of pure acetone remover. I like to decant into a pump, it's less risky of spilling!
I've made a photo tutorial so there are some visuals for this article, please comment if you have questions!




If you have cuticle oil/lotion/balm etc, now's the time to slather that on.

Soak the lil pads in acetone and apply to nail.




Cover/wrap with foil and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes (time depends on what you're removing). Check one nail to see if it's ready to remove. If not, I check about every minute or so after that and sometimes I add more acetone if it seems like it's drying out. You'll know its ready because the polish and all the glitter will slide off like butter.


Apply a little pressure against the nail while sliding the foil and felt/cotton off and tada! Most if not all the glitter should be gone. There might be a few pieces left on the nail but they're super easy to remove at this point with a new cotton pad/acetone.

For another awesome way to make removing polish easier, read about Yellow Stopper!

Pam's PBnJ - mattified! :D

Still loving this polish that Pam gifted to me as a surprise!
Simply gorgeous glossy like before in this post and gorgeous after with matte top coat!
Don't ya think?



Absolutely outstanding polish among the three that I got from Pam, its glossy, sparkly, and sooo easy to apply. Builds in two coats! :D